Manetoali tells Bangkok summit of gov’t policy

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SUSTAINABLE use and conservation of natural resources, protection of the environment, and combating the adverse effects of climate change are underpinning policy objectives of the national government.

That’s according to the Minister for Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, Samuel Manetoali.

He was speaking at the opening of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Summit that was held in Bangkok, Thailand this week.

“The National Development Strategy 2016 – 2035 further makes this a key priority area for the government, with emphasis on a resilient and environmentally sustainable development with effective disaster risk management, response and recovery,” Mr Manetoali said.

He added that this not only shows a keen sense of awareness by Solomon Islands government of important global environmental dialogues, but also a gesture of commitment by the government to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement, among others.

“Environmental sustainability as illustrated by sustainable natural resources consumption and strong resilient ecosystems is crucial to building resilient socioeconomic systems,” the minister said

He added that there is always, however, imbalanced biases in favour of the socioeconomic systems between countries and regions because of their circumstances.

Mr Manetoali said that as a small Island country that heavily depends on its natural resources and the primary extractive industries in mining, forestry, agriculture and tourism, Solomon Islands is under immense pressure to ensure its limited natural resources are sustainably managed in a way, and at a rate, that promotes the resilience of the ecosystems providing those resources.

“Faced with these multiple challenges including pressures from population growth and climate change, there is already a policy shift in terms of the policy-making processes.

“Unlike past practices whereby sectoral policies are inward looking and rigidly defined along responsibility lines, this is no longer the case, with the environment being slowly but, steadily pushed to the core of policy-making.

“Whether by design or otherwise, the rationale is to create a policy platform amenable to balancing the conflicting goals of economic and social development and environment protection.”

The theme for the meeting was “Towards a Resource Efficient and Pollution Free Asia-Pacific”.